'Nutrient budget' aims to head off on-farm legislation

Larry Bilodeau

Avoiding more on-farm environmental regulation is part of the motive for a new drive to offer each of New Zealand's 70,000 farmers the chance to operate a nutrient budget by the end of next year.

The offer has been made by the Fertiliser Manufacturers Research Association, which involves the country's two big fertiliser operators - Ballance Agri-Nutrients and Ravensdown - who have 90 per cent of the market.

A nutrient budget measures all of a farm's nutrient inputs and outputs, including fertilisers, feeds and farm produce.

Ballance chief executive Larry Bilodeau said field staff from his company and Ravensdown would now be pro-actively helping farmers develop budgets, using the Overseer tool, to help mitigate the effect of nutrients on the environment.

Nutrient run-off into waterways can have a major impact on their health.

"We've developed the Overseer model recognising that environmental priorities will intensify," said Bilodeau.

"If the industry isn't being proactive, we farmers face greater and greater regulation. And that regulation may be counter-productive to farming needs."

The work by the fertiliser companies comes as the dairy industry seeks to have all its farmers operating nutrient management plans by May 2008 under the Clean Streams Accord.

Such plans would be aimed at stopping nitrogen and phosphorus run-off, he said.